Posted by Karen on Nov 26, 2009 in
Engagement,
Photography We just got our engagement photos back from Kate Rose Photography and Aaron and I are both pretty pleased with them. We opted for an afternoon with Lucie (our dog) in Harvard Square; a little bit urban, but still with that classic Boston feel (Well, except for the fact Harvard Square is in Cambridge. Technicalities!) We started off at Sweet, a cupcake shop you may have recently seen in paparazzi photos; Suri Cruise is a patron. Afterwards, we spend time wandering through alleyways and made a quick pit stop at a flower shop for a mini bouquet to spruce up the photos. We had the benefit of having a friend and former coworker watch Lucie while we ran around, so she’s just in a handful of them. The photo shoot took place at the end of September and it was HOT. Kate took the photos with her fiance, Mike, and they were both really nice and easy to work with. Being able to just jump into a conversation made it easier to start the whole process. It was surprising just how awkward being photographed for several hours would be. All the cliches were true; you never knew what to do with your hands; Aaron and I were talking the whole time, so our mouths are hanging open in most of the photos; posture is everything. We were extremely self conscious by the crowds that would develop everywhere we went. People were really puzzled by what was going on. After about an hour, I think we got the hang of it. The entire process was an excellent primer for the wedding day. My biggest fear was that the pictures would show just how humid it was that day, but they seem to be okay.
We met with Kate in her studio in Natick after about 6-7 weeks after our e-session to see all the photos and look over packages. Because it was just our engagement pictures, we weren’t really committed to making any major purchases aside from the negatives themselves. Photography is SUCH an expensive part of the whole wedding process. In the end it’s all you have left, so we’ve been understandably hesitant to skimp on any of it. But, in reviewing our options, Aaron and I agreed that we’d much rather save up and make the bigger purchases when it came to the wedding itself. We’ll want a big photography book and I’m certain both of our parents will want a smaller book of their own. So we just went with the full size negatives for these photos and will be saving our pennies for next August.
I’ve included a few of our favorite pictures below. These are un-retouched versions and are probably due for a quick once over with a professional eye and some airbrushing somewhere down the line.
The plan is to use one of these for our Save the Date. We were initially going to go the DIY route, but with Christmas just around the corner, we figured this is one of those things we can just order instead. We’re waiting for a sample of the Belle Memoire card from Minted.
So cute, right? The sample should be in by sometime next week. The goal is to get these out sometime between now and mid-January. That’s at about the 8-9 month range. Our wedding is considered a destination wedding for most of our guests, so we want to give them plenty of time to plan. Plus, with Newport being a top vacation destination in New England, our hotel room blocks all have way earlier than normal cut offs, which is pushing all of our guest notification deadlines up.
We’re also hoping to possibly utilize an online company to create a guest book. Kate Rose’s book options were a bit out of our budget, so we’ve been starting to evaluate photo book companies. Blurb has come up often as a reliable and reputable option. The examples they have on their site are very slick; they were recently a featured vendor for a Martha Stewart Online Weddings Event.
A Sample Blurb Book
Another company that’s crossed my radar is MyPublisher.
My Publisher
In reviewing my slowly growing list of wedding blogs, I was able to find a post on Weddingbee that did a comparison of the two companies; the reviewer ultimately preferred MyPublisher. I’ve found that MyPublisher looks to be much more restrictive in the planning process; there are fewer book size options and MyPublisher seems to rely more on templates, giving you less flexibility that I’d hope for. The WB review also noted that there was noticeable pixelation in their images. So why did she pick them (and why are we considering them?) They’re a bit cheaper and the quality of the pages seems to be nicer, glossier. Though, for the purposes of a guest book, I’m thinking that pages with a matte finish might be easier to write on. So yeah, I’m still stumped.
So what do you think of the pictures? Not bad for a 90 degree day right? And look how cute Lucie is! I would have been happy with a 100 photos of her alone, but I’m happy that Aaron has some pictures of us now; he can no longer complain about not having anything for his desk at work.
Posted by Karen on Jul 23, 2009 in
Dress So after all the dress shopping with my family, I took a bit of time off to deliberate. I had definitely seen enough dresses to know what I wanted and had finally generated a top 4 (Previously posted here). So I’m happy to say I finally bought a dress. AND I got it at a crazy discount. To shield Aaron’s virgin eyes, I’ve posted the grand prize winner after the jump…
Read more…
Posted by Karen on May 25, 2009 in
Unrelated Tidbits Getting really into the idea of a plate wall. I’ve been flirting with it for a couple of months, but I think I’ve finally gotten Aaron on board. I really got into it after seeing it one too many times in Meredith Grey’s kitchen on Grey’s Anatomy. I’ve since tried to grab a screen capture of her kitchen, but now that I’m actually looking for it, I can’t find it anywhere. I’ve watched at least 6 hours worth of GA today trying to find it. Ugh.
I did find a nice alternative for inspiration from the 2008 Design Sponge Archives:
And a much more modified version from an early ‘09 Globe magazine cover story on Boston’s Erin Flynn of Elements of Style. (She’s since moved from this condo, I think. Too bad; it is too cute!
Now for the ones I’ve started to scope out. Also going to check out the cheap options- Salvation Army, Goodwill, TJ Maxx, Marshalls, Home Goods, Target, Walmart, etc. I LOVE the silhouette plate in the first image (from Thomas Pauls’ gothic melamine plate collection). I just don’t want to fork over the $40 to use one plate from a set I’ll probably never use. Time to pore over Ebay, I suppose.
Posted by Karen on May 25, 2009 in
Invitations,
Paper,
Typography A gallery of cool and colorful invitation suites. We’re definitely looking for something more contemporary, casual and fun as a preview for our laid back wedding.
Posted by Karen on May 25, 2009 in
Readings,
Words for the Wedding Unknown
An Irish Blessing
May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
May God be with you and bless you:
May you see your children’s children.
May you be poor in misfortune,
Rich in blessings.
May you know nothing but happiness
From this day forward.
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the warm rays of sun fall upon your home
And may the hand of a friend always be near.
May green be the grass you walk on,
May blue be the skies above you,
May pure be the joys that surround you,
May true be the hearts that love you
Posted by Karen on May 25, 2009 in
Readings,
Words for the Wedding Unknown
An Irish Blessing
You are the star of each night,
You are the brightness of every morning,
You are the story of each guest,
You are the report of every land.
No evil shall befall you, on hill nor bank,
In field or valley, on mountain or in glen.
Neither above, nor below, neither in sea,
Nor on shore, in skies above,
Nor in the depths.
You are the kernel of my heart,
You are the face of my sun,
You are the harp of my music,
You are the crown of my company
Posted by Karen on May 25, 2009 in
Readings,
Words for the Wedding ee cummings
Love is more Thicker than Forget
love is more thicker than forget
more thinner than recall
more seldom than a wave is wet
more frequent than to fail
it is most mad and moonly
and less it shall unbe
than all the sea which only
is deeper than the sea
love is less always than to win
less never than alive
less bigger than the least begin
less littler than forgive
it is more sane and sunly
and more it cannot die
than all the sky which only
is higher than the sky
Posted by Karen on May 25, 2009 in
Readings,
Words for the Wedding Christina Rossetti
A Birthday
My heart is like a singing bird
Whose nest is in a water’d shoot;
My heart is like an apple-tree
Whose boughs are bent with thick-set fruit;
My heart is like a rainbow shell
That paddles in a halcyon sea;
My heart is gladder than all these,
Because my love is come to me.
Raise me a daïs of silk and down;
Hang it with vair and purple dyes;
Carve it in doves and pomegranates,
And peacocks with a hundred eyes;
Work it in gold and silver grapes,
In leaves and silver fleurs-de-lys;
Because the birthday of my life
Is come, my love is come to me.
Posted by Karen on May 25, 2009 in
Readings,
Words for the Wedding Pablo Neruda
Sonnet XVII
I don’t love you as if you were the salt-rose, topaz
or arrow of carnations that propagate fire:
I love you as certain dark things are loved,
secretly, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that doesn’t bloom and carries
hidden within itself the light of those flowers,
and thanks to your love, darkly in my body
lives the dense fragrance that rises from the earth.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where,
I love you simply, without problems or pride:
I love you in this way because I don’t know any other way of loving
but this, in which there is no I or you,
so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand,
so intimate that when I fall asleep it is your eyes that close.
Posted by Karen on May 25, 2009 in
Readings,
Words for the Wedding Charles Jeffreys
We Have Lived and Loved Together
We have lived and loved together
Through many changing years;
We have shared each other’s gladness
And wept each other’s tears;
I have known ne’er a sorrow
That was long unsoothed by thee;
For thy smiles can make a summer
Where darkness else would be.
Like the leaves that fall around us
In autumn’s fading hours,
Are the traitor’s smiles, that darken
When the cloud of sorrow lowers;
And though many such we’ve known, love,
Too prone, alas, to range,
We both can speak of one love
Which time can never change.
We have lived and loved together
Through many changing years,
We have shared each other’s gladness
And wept each other’s tears.
And let us hope the future,
As the past has been will be:
I will share with thee my sorrows,
And thou thy joys with me.
